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Originally Posted by Thinlómien
The Narrator tells us the Bucklanders were no different from the folk of the Shire except in their relationship to boats and swimming. This seems quite contradictory with other parts of their introduction - Buckland seems a lot more hierarchial than say Hobbiton and its surroundings, and the Bucklanders seem more conscious of their own history and the outside world too.
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Certainly they are closer to the borders and all; but I don't think the hierarchical part applies, really. I mean, yes, they are; while Hobbiton is more of a "bourgeoise suburb" (or rather, "urb" - there is nothing it would be "sub" to), there is the sort of "feudal" organisation here; nonetheless, it is by no means unique. If nothing else, the Tooks are the same, if not more so - tradition, nobility (the Thain), military. The Shire is a mixture of those, and who knows how things are in the places we have never visited (Northfarthing, Westfarthing. Southfarthing sounds like a patch of land parcelled among several big capitalists).
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Originally Posted by Lommy
Random note: I always felt for Frodo very much when he feels sorry he's not actually moving to Crickhollow and that his friends went through so much trouble to make it home. This is of course alleviated later in the chapter when it turns out Frodo's friends know exactly what's going on.
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Indeed. For that matter, it is really fascinating that they went through so much trouble even though they knew it wasn't going to last very long. I can imagine many people, even friends, would still act in such a situation more like "ugh, this bookshelf is so heavy, we don't have to drag it all the way to the back of the futhermost room like it was in Bag End, let's just dump it here by the door and be done with it, Frodo is going to stay here only for a few days at most anyway".
On top of that, can you imagine that Merry had everything prepared also for the journey?!? A very effective conspiracy, indeed!
Speaking of which, I was also reminded why I always sort of liked Merry the most of all the Hobbits (at least on first sight). He is obviously super-clever and also acts according to that, and you can see it here in full.
Also, funny thing: the whole secrecy and preparation reminded me of how I felt only a couple of weeks back, when me and few other friends were preparing several surprise events for another friend who was about to get married. Now I kind of feel like I could imagine Merry and co.'s feelings when they were preparing the whole conspiracy business.
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Originally Posted by Lommy
In Three Is Company, I pointed out Pippin's attitude towards Sam - jovial, teasing and a little patronizing. It goes on here, and I'm not entirely sure I like it. Sam never reacts to Pippin's quips in any way, which makes me think he's not entirely comfortable with them.
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Yes, I felt sorry for Sam sometimes in places like these and I got the feeling that he is the sort of equivalent of the kid in a group of schoolfriends who always stands in the back and sometimes even his friends are mean to him.
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Originally Posted by Lommy
Is there a separate thread for Frodo's dreams? I hope so, because they are very fascinating.
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They certainly are. And now I remembered that there is quite a lot about them in
HOME, in the Treason of Isengard, because they had been rewritten and switched and some were originally part of some super-creepy and cool things which didn't make it to the book (like, I think this particular dream about climbing up a hill and hearing the sea and thunder was, if I am not mistaken, somehow related to the episode when Gandalf and Fatty Bolger - whom Gandalf had saved from the Black Riders at Crickhollow - were defending themselves against the Riders in the White Towers, kind of like in the later version Gandalf would fight the Nazgul at Weathertop).
Speaking of Fatty: I think he is once again an interesting and slightly omitted character, and if you look at it, he certainly didn't suffer any less than the others. (I recall
Esty had once written some nice fanfiction which kind of elaborated on it very nicely... I think it remained unfinished? It was here on the 'Downs, or at least a link somewhere.) But it is true that he is a bit of an afterthought also in the chapter, because he does not say anything until almost the end. Which is kind of a pity.